Line #118 Main/ImpoverishedPatrician


1	[[quoteright:350:[[Film/SleepyHollow1999 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/girls_in_snow_2.png]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:They wouldn't go out gathering wood in such [[PimpedOutDress fancy dresses]], or even gather wood at all, if they could help it.]]
3
4	->''"I suppose most people would call me a failure and all my people failures now; except those who would say we never failed, because we never had to try. Anyhow, we're all poor enough now; I don't know whether you know that I've been teaching music. I dare say we deserved to go. I dare say we were useless. Some of us tried to be harmless."''
5	-->-- '''Elizabeth Seymour''', ''The Tales of the Long Bow'' by Creator/GKChesterton
6
7	A character comes from the bluest of BlueBlood; they may be descended from [[RoyalBlood royalty]], or at least from the highest circle of aristocracy or Old Money. Their family name is loaded with history.
8
9	Unfortunately, that family name is pretty much the only thing they have left. The great estates have long since been lost or sold off, the servants have left (except, sometimes, for the OldRetainer), and the mortgage is due on the family castle. Whether by war, revolution, or simple bad luck, the noble dynasty is left penniless. This is often made worse by the fact that there are usually things their noble blood ''obliges'' them to spend money on: Clothing and other accoutrements befitting their roles; hosting the elite of society at lavish parties; or the upkeep on a needlessly large house that they cannot sell without shame. Worst of all, though some take the FallenOnHardTimesJob, others feel that doing a hard day's work is beneath them, are legally forbidden to take up an occupation (at least any one that could make real money), or are ''incapable'' of making their own money. They feel obligated -- or may even be legally obligated by their title -- to preserve the GoodOldWays, although the author often disagrees with them about how good said ways really are.
10
11	The official term for this status is ''genteel poverty''.
12
13	Often crops up in ArrangedMarriage storylines, as [[NouveauRiche rich merchant families]] would [[NobilityMarriesMoney buy their way into high society]] by matching their daughter with the noble family's male heir. Impoverished noble daughters marrying a SelfMadeMan is also a possibility, although less common since titles most often pass only through male heirs (the man can get only connections and not the title- though his children will get it). True love must face the bitter fact that a poor suitor or patrician is UnableToSupportAWife.
14
15	Not to be confused with MosesInTheBulrushes. Here the aristocrat (and generally everyone else) is all too aware of his heritage.
16
17	This is a more long-term version of RichesToRags. It can occasionally lead to the RightfulKingReturns. If the aristocrat deeply laments the situation, may be a PrincessInRags; otherwise can also be a FallenPrincess. The GentlemanSnarker's prodigal ways make him likely to end up as one of these. Can easily be LandPoor: in this case, the aristocrat ''does'' have (possibly extensive) estates but they're unprofitable to keep up and can't honorably be sold or disposed of.
18
19	Contrast NouveauRiche and SimpleYetOpulent. See also {{Hobos}}, as it's fairly common for the boxcar barons to have originally been men of means, such as mayors, boxing champs or wealthy magnates, before losing their fortunes and status to fickle chance.
20	----
21	!!Example subpages:
22
23	[[index]]
24	* [[ImpoverishedPatrician/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
25	* ImpoverishedPatrician/{{Literature}}
26	* ImpoverishedPatrician/LiveActionTV
27	* ImpoverishedPatrician/VideoGames
28	* ImpoverishedPatrician/WesternAnimation
29	* ImpoverishedPatrician/RealLife
30	[[/index]]
31
32	!!Other examples:
33
34	[[foldercontrol]]
35
36	[[folder:Advertising]]
37	* Lord and Lady Brassick in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzh1A9lORUE this 2013 ad]] for Aviva car insurance. Brassick who is "rather strapped for cash" has to sell off his Bentley, open his house [[{{Pun}} Spentitt Hall]] to the public, and only has one [[OldRetainer (very elderly) servant]], Higson (played by [[Theatre/{{Oliver}} Ron Moody]]), left.
38	[[/folder]]
39
40	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
41	* The Lovelaces from ''Manga/BlackLagoon'', to a degree. While they still have quite a bit of money due to plantations, it's still not compared to what the clan used to have in the past, due to their LawfulGood political beliefs and the harassment of the Colombian cartels.
42	* ''Manga/ButterfliesFlowers'': Choko's family lost their fortune 13 years before the series' beginning and now only own a small restaurant.
43	* ''Literature/CrestOfTheStars'': Jinto Linn becomes this soon after the war between the Abh and the Four Nations Alliance begins. He's still technically nobility and is referred to as a Count, but his territory was among the first ones captured by the United Mankind. This means that his officer's quarters on the warship he serves on are literally the only home he has, which his fellow crewmembers tease him about by putting up a sign labelling it "The smallest noble mansion in the Empire". [[spoiler:He does get his territory back later in the story but is forced to accept a "Lord-in-Exile" arrangement, since none of the locals want him as their leader, so it really doesn't do him any good.]]
44	* William Twining from ''Manga/DevilsAndRealist'' becomes one when his uncle's business fails, leaving the family bankrupt.
45	* ''Literature/ExpectingToFallIntoRuinIAimToBecomeABlacksmith'':
46	** As the title suggests, knowing due to MediaTransmigration that he and his future wife Eliza will become poor potato farmers, [[RichesToRags as opposed to]] their current nobility, Kururi learns a trade to make that easier. [[spoiler:It works thanks to AmnesiacResidence, and they live basically middle class until returning to their friends.]]
47	** Toto is from a Baronial family that fell on hard times and hopes to become a SelfMadeMan with herbalist experiments. Toto eventually gets a sponsorship from Kururi in exchange for a percentage of his profits, and he hits it big starting with skincare treatment herbs, eventually post-TimeSkip, becoming a medicine mogul.
48	* This is one of the driving reasons behind [[spoiler:Donquixote Doflamingo]]'s DarkAndTroubledPast in ''Manga/OnePiece''. Even "better", [[spoiler:the Donquixotes used to be ''freaking World Nobles''.]]
49	* Florian and his mother in ''Manga/GorgeousCarat'', though she tries to hide it.
50	* Margot from the Germany arc of ''Anime/HanaNoKoLunlun'', whose family is knee-deep in debts never mind their nobility. For worse, a NouveauRiche DirtyOldMan ''really'' wants to force her into marriage..
51	* ''Anime/HelloSandybell'': Mark is the son of the Countess of Wellington, but sadly, she was killed in a car accident with her husband. Before he died, his father made a series of poor financial decisions that resulted in the Wellingtons losing a large amount of wealth. To retain his family's honour, he wanted Mark to marry [[AlphaBitch Kitty Shearer]]. Mark instead runs away, wanting to pursue his dream of being a painter instead.
52	* ''Anime/LaSeineNoHoshi'': [[spoiler:In the end of episode 13, the de Forges' estate is confiscated and they are exiled, and Robert is slandered as a murderer for something he didn't do. Robert eventually manages to clear their name, though the damage is already done.]]
53	* Roderich Edelstein a.k.a. Austria from ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers''. Under the Habsburgs, the Spanish Empire became the first in world history to declare state bankruptcy... and the first to declare bankruptcy four times in less than forty years. And that's not counting him after the end of WWI ''and'' [=WW2=].
54	* [[spoiler: The Durant family a.k.a. Jeudi's grandparents and mother]] in ''Manga/HonooNoAlpenRose''. While they still have their BigFancyHouse, it's the only thing left of their former power and wealth, which is greatly diminished due to ThoseWackyNazis [[spoiler:and the pressure from ArmsDealer Michel de Toulonchamp.]]
55	* ''Anime/IsabelleOfParis:'' [[spoiler: By the end of the anime, all the Laustins are dead and their estate is siezed by Thiers. Isabelle introducing herself to a soldier as "Isabelle of Paris" instead of "Isabelle Laustin" can be read as her [[ShedTheFamilyName shedding the family name]]]].
56	%%* Jules from ''Manga/KazeToKiNoUta''.
57	* ''Literature/ImTheEvilLordOfAnIntergalacticEmpire'':
58	** Liam faces ParentalAbandonment in [[ReincarnateInAnotherWorld his new life]] as a FeudalFuture Count, because his family, like many other frontier nobles, have given up on repaying their massive debts, and just moved to the Imperial Capitol to live off the funds sent to them from their territory. Fortunately, he's left with an ArtificialIntelligence to manage and grow the domain while he grows up.
59	** Rosetta's Ducal family are buried in debt because an AncientConspiracy for a thousand plus years has been tormenting them, simply because they backed the wrong side in an Imperial SuccessionCrisis. This resulted in her being unable to keep up with her peers in school due to lack of access to NeuralImplanting education common among nobles, and [[DefrostingIceQueen taking her frustrations out on Liam.]]
60	* [[spoiler:Lynn's father Sir George Russell]] in ''Manga/{{Lady}}'' and its sequel ''Lady Lynn''. In the first series, he [[spoiler: is being pressured into marrying the very rich and mean-spirited Baroness Madeleine Weatherby to alleviate the Russells' economic troubles, and in the end he refuses.]] In the second one, [[spoiler: he has lost his BigFancyHouse and his daughters Lynn and Sarah actually are staying with others (Sarah lives with her grandfather, Lynn lives with her great-aunt, but he's working hard to buy Mansion Marble back.]]
61	* ''VideoGame/LapisReLights'' has two very different examples. Rosetta of [=LiGHTS=] is working numerous part-time jobs as her family has fallen on hard times. Ratura of Sugar Pockets, however, is working because her parents refuse to give her an allowance that can support her lifestyle.
62	* ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia2017'': Downplayed with [[spoiler:the Cavendish family. While they are very well-off still, [[EvilAunt Daryl]]'s reckless abuse of the family fortune and selling of priceless artifacts following the death of Bernadette has landed the family in hard times and on the brink of bankruptcy, with parts of the estate falling into disrepair as a result. This is a big reason why Diana is so dedicated to preserving and protecting her family's legacy.]]
63	* Grandis Granva of ''Anime/NadiaTheSecretOfBlueWater'' is from an Italian noble family ruined since her marriage to a GoldDigger and thus became a jewel thief with her two {{Old Retainer}}s.
64	* Many characters in ''Manga/OokuTheInnerChambers'' have this background, especially ones from Kyoto where the Imperial court has been rendered largely irrelevant by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Yunoshin, the main character of the first few chapters, comes from a poor samurai family in Edo. He also refuses to charge money for his stud services in an era devastated by a {{Gendercide}} plague where good-looking fertile young men could name their own price, so his getting sent to the shogun's harem is a big stroke of luck for his family.
65	* ''Manga/Overlord2012'': Arche's parents were Imperial nobles stripped of most of their fortune by the Emperor yet still cling on to their finery (and even spend money they don't have on ConspicuousConsumption). They're the reason their daughter Arche needs to take unpleasant, immoral, and occasionally illegal jobs to make ends meet, and thus [[spoiler:leads to her death in Nazarick.]] Not only that, but they sell off their two youngest daughters into slavery.
66	* Kaisar Lidfard in ''Anime/RageOfBahamutGenesis'', a fallen aristocrat knight-turned-bounty hunter; his father was executed and his family name disgraced (due to their failure to protect a royal treasure) at the hands of Kaisar's best friend [[spoiler: or so he thinks, anyway]].
67	* In ''Manga/TheRedRangerBecomesAnAdventurerInAnotherWorld'', Idola descends from a long line of wizards who used their position as the Royal Family's Wand to make the world a better place. But after her father lost a WizardDuel, he lost his title and his family was subsequently exiled from the royal capital. In the present, Idola still lives in a lavish mansion, but only has Poseidon to staff it and lacks the funds to hire anyone more expensive than a B-rank adventurer to help her.
68	* In ''Manga/TheSecretAgreement'', the Hanayashiki family is incredibly respected, but having lost the family head and much of their fortune during the last war, they've been slowly having to sell off valuable possessions on the sly to generate income. The only male heir, Iori, is set up for an ArrangedMarriage with a much wealthier but lower-in-status bride, but this is complicated by the fact that the person who has been selling off their antiques for them is actually Iori's lover.
69	* ''Manga/SnowWhiteWithTheRedHair'': Mihaya grew up as the third son of the earl of Sisk, who was manipulated into losing almost all of the family's money and then stripped of his lands and titles by Izana shortly after the prince came of age. Mukaze is also a former noble who now lives as an outlaw in the mountains of Tanbarun, his daughter however was born after he and his wife had been outlawed and stripped of their titles so she never had any titles to lose.
70	* Shuurei's family in ''Literature/TheStoryOfSaiunkoku''. Her father Shouka is the oldest son of one of the powerful founding clans of Saiunkoku, but a period of civil war and famine, compounded by Shouka's general ineptitude at managing money, completely destroyed his household's finances. Notably, Shuurei is ''not'' above doing a hard day's work, and with OldRetainer Seiran at her side holds down a staggering number of part-time jobs doing everything from playing the erhu to teaching to accounting (for a brothel!) to cleaning bathrooms in order to try to make ends meet.
71	* In ''Anime/StrikeWitches'', after [[spoiler:the liberation of Gallia from the Neuroi]], Perrine spends all of her family's sizeable fortune on rebuilding her homeland.
72	* ''Literature/TrappedInADatingSimTheWorldOfOtomeGamesIsToughForMobs'':
73	** In Holfort's LadyLand FantasticCasteSystem, Leon, Daniel, Raymond and many other rural [[BlueBlood low nobles]] have their family's wealth systemically drained to RichBitch wives of the heads of their family who live opulently in the capitol with their lovers, while her HenpeckedHusband and their boys are worked to the bone on their islands. This being the result of a social engineering experiment by the Royal Family to reign in warlordism and centralize authority.
74	** Angelica's original fate before Leon's intervention was supposed to be being punished for her supposed bullying by being forced to marry a poor man from the countryside.
75	** Marie's family turns out to be this both because her father is TheGamblingAddict and proud, and her older sister's spending sprees. Marie's family does things like take out loans in Marie's name or send debt collectors to raid her room in the academy. In the AlternateTimeline ''Marie Route'', this situation drives Marie's family into a NobilityMarriesMoney plot where Marie is to be sold off to a NouveauRiche SkyPirates supporting family.
76	** In Alzer, Noelle and Lelia are each a FallenPrincess due to a RulingFamilyMassacre coup plot, but neither seems too averse to a commoner standard of living.
77	* ''Literature/UndefeatedBahamutChronicle'': Lux and Airi used to be part of the imperial family of the Old Arcadia Empire but lost their wealth in two stages. First, their maternal grandfather Wade angered the emperor, causing the two siblings and their mother to be thrown out of the imperial court. Second, and much more drastically, the Empire was destroyed in a rebellion and replaced by the New Kingdom, which treated Lux and Airi as criminals. They were released on parole but saddled with a huge debt (equal to a fifth of the national treasury), which they have to work to pay off.
78	* ''Literature/TheVillainousDaughtersButlerIllCrushTheDestructionFlags'': No-Name's backstory is that he was set up and betrayed, and became TheDon of the WrongSideOfTheTracks including HumanTrafficking and being a KnowledgeBroker, to eventually get revenge on the nobles who stripped him of everything.
79	* ''Anime/YuGiOh'': The von Schroeder family used to be as prominent as the Kaiba family, but after [=KaibaCorp=] put Schroeder Corp out of business, they are going broke. Siegfried von Schroeder tries to hide this via ConspicuousConsumption before trying to get revenge on Seto Kaiba. He fails, but the final episode's epilogue shows him making a business deal with Maximillion Pegasus, so his future might be looking up.
80	[[/folder]]
81
82	[[folder:Arts]]
83	* The six {{paintings}} of William Hogarth's ''Art/MarriageALaMode'' open with the bankrupt Earl of [[MeaningfulName Squanderfield]] trying to restore his family fortunes by [[ArrangedMarriage marrying his son and heir]] to the daughter of a [[NouveauRiche wealthy bourgeois alderman]], who in turn hopes to elevate his family to respectability by [[NobilityMarriesMoney marrying into the aristocracy]]. The marriage is a disaster from start to finish, although the Earl does not live to see the ultimate fates of his son ([[DuelToTheDeath killed in a duel with his wife's lover]]) and daughter-in-law ([[DrivenToSuicide suicide by poison after her lover is hanged]]).
84	[[/folder]]
85
86	[[folder:Comic Books]]
87	* ''ComicBook/ArchieComics2015'': Jughead Jones's family lost their wealth after investing in a scam involving a water bottling plant called "Purejug," and said incident is the source of his nickname.
88	* Several members of ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'''s RoguesGallery:
89	** The Penguin, also known as Oswald Cobblepot, hailed from a once-wealthy family second only to the Waynes, but they squandered all of it [[DependingOnTheWriter somehow]]. Penguin seeks to regain his family's wealth and status, using illegitimate means to do it.
90	** Victor Zsasz inherited a fortune from his family and lost it all by gambling (In one continuity, to Penguin).
91	** Roman Sionis inherited his family's business empire and lost it because he wasn't a very good businessman (though as Black Mask, he turned out to be a very good crime boss).
92	** Lady Vic (a.k.a. Lady Elaine Marsh-Morton) is an aristocrat who is descended from a long line of mercenaries and assassins. Unfortunately, names don't pay the bills, and she's practically broke and carries on the family tradition solely to keep the family estate from being foreclosed upon.
93	* In ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'', this is part of Scrooge's background, especially obvious in Creator/DonRosa's ''ComicBook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck'', specifically written to explain why, if Scrooge came from an impoverished background, his family also has a huge ancestral castle.
94	* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' villain ComicBook/NormanOsborn was born into a wealthy family but his father squandered the money.
95	* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'':
96	** Pre-Crisis story ''ComicBook/TheKryptonChronicles'' shows twenty generations of the House of El ruled over one whole continent millennia ago. One civil war and a natural disaster later, and they were wearing rags and living off harvesting seaweed.
97	** In ''ComicBook/StrangersAtTheHeartsCore'', ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'s enemy Gravity Lord is the last scion of an English aristocratic family which lost their fortune during the American Revolution and were unable to get their wealth back.
98	** Different continuities go back and forth on it a lot, but for a while, the standard ComicBook/LexLuthor backstory was that the Luthors ''used'' to be one of the most powerful families in Metropolis, until Wallace Luthor lost everything in the '29 stock market crash, resulting in Lex growing up in [[TheCityNarrows Suicide Slum]] (or possibly Smallville) hearing his drunken father ramble about the family's former greatness. Lex therefore became determined to do what his father couldn't and rebuild the Luthor name.
99	[[/folder]]
100
101	[[folder:Fairy Tales]]
102	* "Literature/{{Reygoch}}": Curlylocks, a fairy of royal blood, ends up losing her magic, moving into a little village and looking after a garden. Nonetheless, she doesn't seem to care much.
103	[[/folder]]
104
105	[[folder:Fan Works]]
106	* In the ''Beverly Hillbillies'' story ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10895548/1/The-Big-Shindig The Big Shindig]]'', a subplot has Sonny Drysdale engaged to the daughter of impoverished English baronet [[PunnyName Sir Wastrel Mendicant]].
107	* In ''Fanfic/CheatingDeathThoseThatLived'', several noble Houses from District 1 are this trope due to spending much money into training losing progeny for the Hunger Games.
108	* ''Fanfic/EarthAndSky'': It's implied in the story (and confirmed by WordOfGod) that Prince Blueblood only married Diamond Tiara because he needed money and her family's one of the richest in Equestria. For her part, Tiara only married him for the prestige; [[UnwantedSpouse neither pretends to be in love with each other]].
109	* ''Fanfic/TheChoicesThatMakeUs'': Cyngus Black, one of the cruelest and proudest members of his BlueBlood family, ends up in this state after his wife burns their house down while trying to clear out dementors. Cyngus is forced to live off of his sister's begrudging charity. They don't get along well, and she kicks him out with instructions to ask his daughter Narcissa to let him move into Malfoy Manor. Narcissa's violent refusal briefly sends Cyngus back to his sister's house before he emigrates to South America and spends the rest of his days as a con artist who can't even afford a house to himself.
110	* ''Fanfic/TheKarmaOfLies'': PlayedWith; while the Agrestes remain technically wealthy, Adrien finds himself unable to ''access'' any of their fortune himself after [[spoiler:Lila drains the Agreste emergency account]]. His aunt becomes his guardian, but refuses to furnish the lavish lifestyle he's used to, and [[FirstWorldProblems he complains bitterly about being stuck in an upper-middle-class apartment that is 'smaller than his old closet']].
111	* The Klingon House of Chel'toK in ''Fanfic/RedFireRedPlanet''. Their only holding of note is a nearly depleted segment of asteroid belt, and the house "fleet" consists of two Birds-of-Prey and an ancient relic of a D7 battlecruiser that they can't even fully crew.
112	* This is Baroness Adagio Dazzle's situation at the beginning of ''[[Fanfic/TheRainsverse When It Rains]]''. After her parent's death, Fancy Pants was appointed to manage her affairs until she came of age. He has driven her Barony into the ground, to the point where her only hope is the upcoming Festival of Remembrance in Ponyville.
113	* Delacroix House, the Great House that [[OCStandIn Gloss and Cashmere]] are from, were in this situation in ''Fanfic/TheVictorsProject'' for at least twenty-six years. By the time Gloss and Cashmere voluntarily enter [[AcademyOfEvil the district's Career tribute academy]], the family is greatly indebted with two of their sons being Peacekeepers in outlying districts. Thankfully, their situation improves after Gloss becomes Victor, making them respected among the Great Houses and allowing them to recall their sons back. With Cashmere's victory, they're the only Great House to have more than one Victor.
114	[[/folder]]
115
116	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
117	%%* Lucita Toelle Ul Laputa in ''Anime/CastleInTheSky''.
118	* ''WesternAnimation/CorpseBride'':
119	** Victoria's parents Lord and Lady Everglot are, to paraphrase their introductory song, "land-rich, bankrupt aristocracy without a penny to their name". Their enormous house suggests that they once had wealth to go with their title but size aside, the house is dilapidated and almost completely empty of furniture.
120	** Lord Barkis Bittern has a title but no money, [[spoiler:one reason he murdered Emily on the night he told her they would elope--unfortunately, both Barkis and the Everglots are under the mistaken impression that the other party is in possession of great wealth]].
121	* ''WesternAnimation/TheHouse2022'': In the first segment, Raymond used to be as wealthy as the rest of his family, but his father reputedly blew the finances on gambling and booze; as a result, despite his upbringing and education, Raymond is left living in a small but comfortable cottage in the middle of nowhere with only a few small keepsakes of his old life. Those of the family who weren't bankrupted by his father's downfall are disgusted, and rub his poverty in his face on the one occasion they bother to visit.
122	* Prince Naveen's family in ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' is plenty rich; he's just been cut off due to his carefree lifestyle.
123	[[/folder]]
124
125	[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
126	* ''Literature/TheBible'': Joseph is from the lineage of King David, but he earns a modest living as a carpenter.
127	[[/folder]]
128
129	[[folder:Podcasts]]
130	* ''Podcast/OnTheThreshold'': The Browne family are nobility, but their country estate is crumbling from neglect, they can only afford to feed guests peasant food, and according to Dr. Powell, Lady Alexandra has been [[FallenOnHardTimesJob forced into legal consulting]] ([[ValuesDissonance which he considers deeply undignified for an aristocratic woman.]]) It likely doesn't help that [[UpperClassTwit Baron Erasmus Brown]] will disappear into opium dens and flophouses for months at a time instead of helping his sister with the finances.
131	[[/folder]]
132
133	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
134	* This was Wrestling/PrinceNana's motivation for returning to Wrestling/RingOfHonor in 2008, the loss of his crown being the straw that broke his pride (don't worry, it got better after Barack Obama's stimulus package).
135	[[/folder]]
136
137	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
138	* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'': The background of Cynis Denovah Avaku is that he came from a branch of the [[TheHedonist decadent (even by Dynastic standards)]] House Cynis that had been marginalized for centuries due to their inability to produce Dragon Blooded members. Between the expenses of even the basic Dynastic lifestyle, the increasingly piddling stipend they received, and the rest of the House providing no aid in financial opportunities, the family was so poor that they were reduced to living in a crumbling manse on the edge of a cliff. One of Avaku's main goals is to help bring his family back to some semblance of prosperity. [[CrapsackWorld Like many things in Exalted]], this requires him to choose between moral and expedient behavior, and he suffers a crisis of faith when he is forced to kill a child Solar to protect his family's drug money.
139	** This is also the general perception of House Iselsi. After a few of their members tried killing the Scarlet Empress back in the day, she seized their fortunes and had a few members executed or imprisoned every year for the next few decades to set an example. In truth, she turned the family into a spy network and secret police loyal only to her, watching over the other houses. She also promised them that, one day, they would be able to reclaim their prestige and fortunes in a staged display of grand heroism. And then she vanished. House Iselsi is getting ''very'' impatient.
140	* Common in ''TabletopGame/UnhallowedMetropolis'', where the Victorian Era has more-or-less continued intact into 2100. Backwoods aristocrats often have nothing but their BigFancyHouse to their name, and that mansion may have a curse on it, but it would still be a horrific scandal if they were to actually work for a living.
141	* Gary Gygax suggested this as a background for many adventurers in a ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' setting. The second and third children in a family may not stand to inherit much from the estate, so they become adventurers to earn their own fortunes. Alternately, their family may have fallen on hard times and they become adventurers to win enough gold and/or glory to restore the family's prestige.
142	* Fairly common in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'', for several reasons. First, there are a lot of wars and a noble's holdings (which can range in size from a manor house to an entire planet) might be attacked and destroyed or conquered. This was especially true during the Clan Invasion when numerous planets were overrun by the Clans, who operate in a caste-based command economy. Second, nobles sometimes fall out of favor after backing the wrong side in a power struggle or just because whoever's in charge of the Successor State they belong to doesn't like them. Third, quite a few noble titles really aren't worth anything. It's quite possible for someone to be "rewarded" for their services with a barony that consists of a patch of rock that can't be farmed and has no mining or industrial value, thus earning no money.
143	* In ''TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}'', the surviving members of the Cyran nobility tend to be this. Cyre, formerly the crowning glory of the Five Nations, was reduced to a hellscape of dead bodies, hideous mutations, and lots and lots of OminousFog following its destruction by what may well have been a FantasticNuke, and so Cyran nobles tend to have little but the clothes they fled in, a little bit of money and their pride - especially since between the war and the magical apocalypse that swallowed it, Cyre is essentially no longer considered a nation and their titles have been noticeably devalued in the eyes of the nobles of other nations, who still have land and wealth.
144	* The Eyrie Dynasty in ''TabletopGame/{{Root}}'', having just recovered from losing most of their territory to the Marquise de Cat, start the game with only a single clearing under their control.
145	* In ''TabletopGame/TheYellowKing'', many aristocrats have fallen on hard times and are forced to slowly selling the family jewels. Hereditary rank can't be lost, no matter the scandal. The term ''déclassé'' means a person of high social rank who behaves disgracefully, perhaps because he has run out of money.
146	[[/folder]]
147
148	[[folder:Theatre]]
149	* The title character of ''Theatre/CyranoDeBergerac'' is a classic example. Swashbuckling as a genre in general is full of young, poor nobles seeking their fortune with their blade.
150	* Creator/WilliamShakespeare:
151	** The title character of ''Theatre/TimonOfAthens'' begins the play this way, but is ruined when word gets out that his extreme philanthropy has brought him to this state, and his creditors all call in their debts at once. After an epic FreakOut, Timon is reduced to living in the woods, eating roots, and throwing insults and rocks (and, in one notable production, feces) at anyone who passes by.
152	** ''Theatre/TheTamingOfTheShrew'': Petruchio is a descendant of nobility in a time when feudalism is giving way to capitalism, hence his willingness to marry the daughter of a wealthy merchant, despite her well-earned reputation for being impossible (he also relishes the challenge of "taming" her, but his primary motivation is financial).
153	* The Duke of Plaza-Toro, Count Matadoro, Baron Picadoro from Creator/GilbertAndSullivan's ''Theatre/TheGondoliers'' boasts an impressive lineage as a Castilian hidalgo of ninety-five quarterings, but he's still practically penniless. However, he manages to resolve this problem by incorporating himself as the Duke of Plaza-Toro Ltd.
154	* Major-General Stanley in ''Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance'' is ''not'' an example directly, but still invokes the trope: he lives in a house he purchased from such a family. At one point he's brought to tears by the fact that he's brought shame on his ancestors in the crypts. It's pointed out to him that they're not actually ''his'' ancestors, to which he replies that he bought the house, which included the crypts, which included the ancestors, and they're bloody well ''his'' ancestors now.
155	* In Richard Strauss's opera ''Arabella'', Count Waldner's family is dirt-broke because of his love of gambling and luxury: now they live in a hotel and can't pay the bills. The only solution is to marry off their daughter for money.
156	* Several in Creator/AntonChekhov's ''Theatre/TheCherryOrchard'', like Madame Lyubov Andreyevna Ranevskaya (also TheWoobie), her older brother Leonid Andreevich Gayev and specially their common friend Boris Borisovich Simeonov-Pischik.
157	* The Count in Beaumarchais' ''Theatre/TheBarberOfSeville''.
158	* The Eynsford-Hills in George Bernard Shaw's ''Theatre/{{Pygmalion}}''. Shaw writes that they live on a pension so small he hasn't the heart to reveal what it is.
159	* In Creator/{{Moliere}}'s play ''[[Theatre/TheBourgeoisGentleman Le Bourgeois gentilhomme]]'', one of the characters taking advantage of [[NouveauRiche Monsieur Jourdain]]'s combination of money, vanity, and gullibility is Dorante, a cash-strapped count. He claims to have mentioned Jourdain's name to the king at Versailles, and in return, Jourdain is happy to lend him enormous sums of money; meanwhile, he tells Jourdain that he is courting a widowed marchioness named Dorimène on his behalf by plying her with rich gifts purchased by Jourdain, when in reality he is trying to win Dorimène's love for himself. Jourdain's wife sees Dorante for the parasite that he is, but cannot get past her husband's vanity to stop him from giving the count an unlimited line of credit.
160	* The ''Theatre/MrsHawking'' play series: Cassius Evans in the comedic spinoff ''Gentlemen Never Tell''. He’s the third son of an earl who has been selling off family lands to maintain their style of living for years now, and so makes his way by staying in the houses of his rich friends, earning his keep through charm and throwing entertaining parties for them.
161	[[/folder]]
162
163	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
164	* The Zaberisks in ''VisualNovel/AnimamundiDarkAlchemist'' is not completely broke, but they are in crippling debt to an {{All Devouring Black Hole Loan Shark\|s}} -- unlike most examples, Georik is really only concerned if they have enough to live on, he doesn't seem to give a rat's ass about keeping up appearances.
165	* In ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', it's stated that despite coming from a very reputable family and owning a Western-style mansion, Rin Tohsaka lives rather modestly. This is mostly caused by the lack of any income-bringing parents ([[spoiler:her dad Tokiomi was messily killed some years ago according to ''Literature/FateZero''; her mother Aoi suffered severe brain damage afterwards and is implied to have died sometime later]]), and the fact that her form of magic requires the use of absurdly expensive precious jewels to store her power in. This would not have been so bad ordinarily, as most of the Tohsaka wealth came from various properties they owned; but after assuming Rin's guardianship, Kirei ([[ForTheEvulz purposely]]) mishandled the estate and most of the properties were lost.
166	* Natsuhi from ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry''. Being from a family of impoverished Shinto priests and having married the eldest son and heir of the very rich Ushiromiya clan [[spoiler: in an ArrangedMarriage (which came from Kinzo's ScarpiaUltimatum)]], her RichBitch sister-in-law Eva looks down on her and calls her a "maidservant".
167	* In ''VisualNovel/TheUnexpectedHeiress'', this is the reason why the Ashbourne elders want to see your engagement with Francis succeed. Although they grow genuinely fond of you with time, it is never a secret that they very much need your family's money.
168	[[/folder]]
169
170	[[folder:Webcomics]]
171	* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'':
172	** It's implied that a few of the [[RoyalBlood Fifty Families]] of Europe have only their titles left, and no longer have any Spark members (which are the true measure of power in the ''Girl Genius'' universe). The fact that their power has been significantly reduced by the Baron's Peace is also a great source of ire to them.
173	** The families the children on the Castle come from are not so much impoverished and still rule minor principalities (as does Tarvek Sturmvoraus [[spoiler:now that his father Prince Aaronev is dead]]) but their issue is that the Baron expects them to stop destroying the countryside fighting each other and become RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething (other than exploiting the peasants and blowing things up, that is); they don't really like this idea.
174	** There is also mention of various noble families that have nothing but their names because some Spark conquered their lands at some point back. Other nobles often grant them a place in their own households, because it is considered bad form not to, but if the landless nobles are sufficiently irritating their hosts will try to find them a dangerous task that gets them out of the court and possibly into an early grave to get rid of them.
175	* Sylvester and Mortimer in ''Webcomic/TheMansionOfE'', though Sylvester is plugging away at restoring their family's financial status.
176	* Khun Aguero Agnes from ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod''. Though his family is still one of the most influential ones in the Tower, his side branch got exiled and ended up impoverished after Khun Maria became a Princess of Jahad. Considering he wanted her to be that all along and made it happen, it was his own damn fault.
177	* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': The Västerström family, that had its RichesToRags moment at least four years ago when the story starts. Siv calls her and Torbjörn's house "the last nice thing we own".
178	[[/folder]]
179
180	[[folder:Web Original]]
181	* Subverted in the ''Website/FurryBasketballAssociation''. Lord Joseph Trundle, the 12th Baron Overstone (a.k.a. His Dudeship to his surfer teammate), is a player for the Bradford Bantams. Knowing his uncle's gambling left the family in serious debt, he became a basketball player to earn money of his own -- which resulted in ''him'' being named the heir, in hopes that he would restore the family fortune. With his contract, he's doing well.
182	[[/folder]]
183
184	[[folder:Web Videos]]
185	* Draven Rowe, one of the four protagonists of ''WebVideo/TalesFromMyDDCampaign'', is the rightful Marquis of Rowan, a small but wealthy region in the human kingdom of Verandi. Unfortunately, the evil homicidal [[FishPeople Kua-Toan]] Empire overran Rowan, and all the rest of Verandi, a hundred and forty years ago, driving Draven's ancestors north to the allied human realm of Vistria. Draven works for the Hand of Sirius, a semi-secret order dedicated to protecting humanity across the world, and dreams of one day gathering the resources and numbers to reconquer Rowan and Vistria, and drive the Kua-Toa back to the abyss that spawned them.
186	[[/folder]]

Context Main / ImpoverishedPatrician